High Wind — Watauga, North Carolina

2024-09-27 · Watauga, North Carolina

Event narrative

Trees and power lines were downed county wide due to high winds associated with the remnants of Hurricane Helene. Countless roads were blocked by trees and power lines, and over 25,000 customers were reported without power at the peak of the high winds during late Friday morning and early Friday afternoon. Power and water outages continued for several days after the high winds dissipated. A personal weather station one mile south of Rutherwood recorded a peak gust of 91 mph at 10:01 AM. Timber damage alone totaled over $27 million.

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a powerful Category 4 hurricane late Thursday, September 26, and moved quickly northward into the southeastern states, and then turned slightly northwestward towards the southern Appalachian Mountains overnight into Friday morning, weakening as it moved over land. Helene's intensity and fast forward motion led to impacts being felt well inland, from the Florida Big Bend area into the Appalachians, and there was extensive damage in northwest North Carolina. Widespread cellular service and power outages, some lasting for several days, occurred as high winds downed thousands of trees across the region. While there were widespread wind gusts 50 to 60 MPH, pockets of wind gusts measured 85 to 91 MPH contributed to several swaths of widespread wind damage in the northwest North Carolina mountains. There were three confirmed tornadoes associated with the remnants of Hurricane Helene in nnrthwest North Carolina.

Flooding impacts from Hurricane Helene were extensive across the area, and were exacerbated by a predecessor rainfall event that occurred a few days before Helene reached the region, which brought six to eight inches of rain to the mountains prior to the arrival of the remnants of Helene. The three day rainfall totals associated with the remnants of Hurricane Helene were highest along the mountains of northwest North Carolina, where observations of 20 to 21 inches of rain were recorded. A cooperative observer in Sparta, North Carolina reported over 17 inches of rain over three days. The Piedmont of North Carolina received much less rain, between one and two inches, with a couple areas around three inches.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1215648. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.